{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T03:53:51Z","timestamp":1771473231180,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,20]],"date-time":"2024-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721433600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["UIDB\/04436\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04436\/2020"]}]},{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["UIDP\/04436\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/04436\/2020"]}]},{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["SFRH\/BD\/151382\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFRH\/BD\/151382\/2021"]}]},{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)","award":["POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039868"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039868"]}]},{"name":"European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)","award":["UIDB\/04436\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04436\/2020"]}]},{"name":"European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)","award":["UIDP\/04436\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDP\/04436\/2020"]}]},{"name":"European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)","award":["SFRH\/BD\/151382\/2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SFRH\/BD\/151382\/2021"]}]},{"name":"European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)","award":["POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039868"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039868"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Currently, the market for wearable devices is expanding, with a growing trend towards the use of these devices for continuous-monitoring applications. Among these, real-time posture monitoring and assessment stands out as a crucial application given the rising prevalence of conditions like forward head posture (FHP). This paper proposes a wearable device that combines the acquisition of electromyographic signals from the cervical region with inertial data from inertial measurement units (IMUs) to assess the occurrence of FHP. To improve electronics integration and wearability, e-textiles are explored for the development of surface electrodes and conductive tracks that connect the different electronic modules. Tensile strength and abrasion tests of 22 samples consisting of textile electrodes and conductive tracks produced with three fiber types (two from Shieldex and one from Imbut) were conducted. Imbut\u2019s Elitex fiber outperformed Shieldex\u2019s fibers in both tests. The developed surface electromyography (sEMG) acquisition hardware and textile electrodes were also tested and benchmarked against an electromyography (EMG) gold standard in dynamic and isometric conditions, with results showing slightly better root mean square error (RMSE) values (for 4 \u00d7 2 textile electrodes (10.02%) in comparison to commercial Ag\/AgCl electrodes (11.11%). The posture monitoring module was also validated in terms of joint angle estimation and presented an overall error of 4.77\u00b0 for a controlled angular velocity of 40\u00b0\/s as benchmarked against a UR10 robotic arm.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24144717","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,22]],"date-time":"2024-07-22T14:45:53Z","timestamp":1721659553000},"page":"4717","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Integrating sEMG and IMU Sensors in an e-Textile Smart Vest for Forward Posture Monitoring: First Steps"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8493-6821","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o","family":"Martins","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8097-5507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara M.","family":"Cerqueira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2907-6845","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andr\u00e9 Whiteman","family":"Catarino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0672-2894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandre Ferreira","family":"da Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS-Associate Laboratory, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3611-3635","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana M.","family":"Rocha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jorge","family":"Vale","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Val\u00e9rius-T\u00eaxteis, SA, Rua Industrial do Ald\u00e3o, Apartado 219, Vila Fresca\u00ednha, S.Martinho, 4750-078 Barcelos, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Miguel","family":"\u00c2ngelo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Val\u00e9rius-T\u00eaxteis, SA, Rua Industrial do Ald\u00e3o, Apartado 219, Vila Fresca\u00ednha, S.Martinho, 4750-078 Barcelos, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0023-7203","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina P.","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS-Associate Laboratory, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Brophy, K., Davies, S., Olenik, S., \u00c7otur, Y., Ming, D., Zalk, N.V., O\u2019hare, D., G\u00fcder, F., and Yetisen, A.K. (2021). The Future of Wearable Technologies, Imperial College London."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.2519\/jospt.2005.35.2.72","article-title":"Subacromial Impingement Syndrome: The Effect of Changing Posture on Shoulder Range of Movement","volume":"35","author":"Lewis","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Orthop. Sports Phys. Ther."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1589\/jpts.31.63","article-title":"Effect of forward head posture on thoracic shape and respiratory function","volume":"31","author":"Koseki","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Phys. Ther. Sci."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"141","article-title":"Text Neck Syndrome-Systematic Review","volume":"3","author":"Neupane","year":"2017","journal-title":"Imp. J. Interdiscip. Res."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e142","DOI":"10.1016\/S2665-9913(23)00321-1","article-title":"Global, regional, and national burden of neck pain, 1990\u20132020, and projections to 2050: A systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021","volume":"6","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Rheumatol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2627","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2016.16885","article-title":"US spending on personal health care and public health, 1996\u20132013","volume":"316","author":"Dieleman","year":"2016","journal-title":"JAMA-J. Am. Med. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"81","DOI":"10.1016\/j.humov.2017.07.008","article-title":"Reliability of forward head posture evaluation while sitting, standing, walking and running","volume":"55","author":"Lee","year":"2017","journal-title":"Hum. Mov. Sci."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1589\/jpts.25.737","article-title":"The Intra-and Inter-rater Reliabilities of the Forward Head Posture Assessment of Normal Healthy Subjects","volume":"25","author":"Nam","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Phys. Ther. Sci."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"858","article-title":"Effects of trunk postures and shoulder flexion angles on the muscular activity of scapular upward rotators","volume":"9","author":"Park","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Hum. Mov. Sports Sci."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"527","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jelekin.2005.06.003","article-title":"The effect of postural correction on muscle activation amplitudes recorded from the cervicobrachial region","volume":"15","author":"McLean","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Electromyogr. Kinesiol."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2491","DOI":"10.1007\/s00421-015-3257-y","article-title":"A slouched body posture decreases arm mobility and changes muscle recruitment in the neck and shoulder region","volume":"115","author":"Olsson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur. J. Appl. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, Q., Chen, W., Timmermans, A.A., Karachristos, C., Martens, J.B., and Markopoulos, P. (2015, January 25\u201329). Smart Rehabilitation Garment for posture monitoring. Proceedings of the 2015 37th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Milan, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/EMBC.2015.7319695"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Severin, I.C. (2020, January 29\u201330). Head posture monitor based on 3 IMU sensors: Consideration toward healthcare application. Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on e-Health and Bioengineering (EHB), Iasi, Romania.","DOI":"10.1109\/EHB50910.2020.9280106"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1109\/MCE.2019.2956205","article-title":"Wearable Smart Health Advisors: An IMU-Enabled Posture Monitor","volume":"9","author":"Petropoulos","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Consum. Electron. Mag."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kang, S.W., Choi, H., Park, H.I., Choi, B.G., Im, H., Shin, D., Jung, Y.G., Lee, J.Y., Park, H.W., and Park, S. (2017). The Development of an IMU Integrated Clothes for Postural Monitoring Using Conductive Yarn and Interconnecting Technology. Sensors, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/s17112560"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tao, X., Koncar, V., Huang, T.H., Shen, C.L., Ko, Y.C., and Jou, G.T. (2017). How to make reliable, washable, and wearable textronic devices. Sensors, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/s17040673"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Chen, H., Xue, M., Oetomo, S.B., and Chen, W. (2016). Neonatal Seizure Detection with Wearable Sensor System. Intelligent Environments, IOS Press."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1472","DOI":"10.1109\/TNSRE.2016.2633506","article-title":"Embroidered Electromyography: A Systematic Design Guide","volume":"25","author":"Shafti","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Catarino, A., Rocha, A., and Ferreira, F. (2017, January 16\u201318). Textile Based Electrodes for ECG and EMG Measurements. Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Textiles and Mass Customisation-ITMC 2017, Ghent, Belgium."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, H., Rho, S., Han, S., Lim, D., and Jeong, W. (2022). Fabrication of Textile-Based Dry Electrode and Analysis of Its Surface EMG Signal for Applying Smart Wear. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14173641"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Martins, J., Cerqueira, S.M., Silva, A.F., Catarino, A., Rocha, A., and Santos, C.P. (2023, January 22\u201323). Towards a Smart-Vest for Forward Posture Monitoring: Improving Usability with E-Textiles. Proceedings of the 2023 IEEE 7th Portuguese Meeting on Bioengineering (ENBENG), Porto, Portugal.","DOI":"10.1109\/ENBENG58165.2023.10175331"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bawa, A., and Banitsas, K. (2022). Design Validation of a Low-Cost EMG Sensor Compared to a Commercial-Based System for Measuring Muscle Activity and Fatigue. Sensors, 22.","DOI":"10.3390\/s22155799"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"320","DOI":"10.1038\/s41393-024-00981-y","article-title":"Validity and reliability study of a novel surface electromyography sensor using a well-consolidated electromyography system in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury","volume":"62","author":"Jayaraman","year":"2024","journal-title":"Spinal Cord"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Luca, G.D. (2003). Fundamental Concepts in EMG Signal Acquisition, Delsys Inc."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11","DOI":"10.1251\/bpo115","article-title":"Techniques of EMG signal analysis: Detection, processing, classification and applications","volume":"8","author":"Reaz","year":"2006","journal-title":"Biol. Proced. Online"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.5535\/arm.2012.36.1.98","article-title":"The effect of the forward head posture on postural balance in long time computer based worker","volume":"36","author":"Kang","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ann. Rehabil. Med."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). SENIAM Project. Available online: http:\/\/seniam.org\/trapeziusdescendens.html."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Resende, A. (2022). Ergowear: Development of a Smart Garment for Postural Monitoring and Biofeedback. [Master\u2019s Thesis, University of Minho]."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1016\/S1050-6411(00)00027-4","article-title":"Development of recommendations for SEMG sensors and sensor placement procedures","volume":"10","author":"Hermens","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Electromyogr. Kinesiol."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). Shieldex 117\/17 HC+B. Available online: https:\/\/www.shieldex.de\/en\/products\/shieldex-117-17-hcb\/."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). Shieldex 235\/36 HC+B. Available online: https:\/\/www.shieldex.de\/en\/products\/shieldex-235-36-hcb-2\/."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). ELITEX Skin Contact (SC). Available online: https:\/\/www.imbut.de\/images\/pdf\/ELITEX_SC_235_110_englisch.pdf."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Spencer, D.J. (2001). Knitting Technology: A Comprehensive Handbook and Practical Guide, Technomic Pub.","DOI":"10.1201\/9781439833087"},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). Agilent Technologies Agilent 34410A\/11A 6 \u00bd Digit Multimeter Service Guide. Available online: https:\/\/www.testunlimited.com\/pdf\/an\/34410-90010.pdf."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"(2023, March 07). Testron Group-Martindale Abrasion Tester. Available online: https:\/\/www.testrongroup.com\/product\/martindale-abrasion-tester\/."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"Analog Devices (2023, March 20). AD8232: Single-Lead, Heart Rate Monitor Front End. Available online: https:\/\/www.analog.com\/media\/en\/technical-documentation\/data-sheets\/ad8232.pdf."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Analog Devices (2023, March 20). AD8232 Filter Design Tool. Available online: https:\/\/www.analog.com\/en\/products\/ad8232.html."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Analog Devices (2023, March 21). AD5241\/AD5242: I2C-Compatible 256-Position Digital Potentiometers. Available online: https:\/\/www.analog.com\/AD5242\/datasheet."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"444","DOI":"10.1016\/S0161-4754(99)70032-1","article-title":"The Importance of Normalization in the Interpretation of Surface Electromyography: A Proof of Principle","volume":"22","author":"Lehman","year":"1999","journal-title":"J. Manip. Physiol. Ther."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"del Toro, S.F., Wei, Y., Olmeda, E., Ren, L., Guowu, W., and D\u00edaz, V. (2019). Validation of a low-cost electromyography (EMG) system via a commercial and accurate EMG device: Pilot study. Sensors, 19.","DOI":"10.3390\/s19235214"},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"D\u2019alcala\u2019, E.R., Voerman, J.A., Konrath, J.M., and Vydhyanathan, A. (2021). Xsens DOT Wearable Sensor Platform White Paper, Movella."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Paulich, M., Schepers, M., Rudigkeit, N., and Bellusci, G. (2018). Xsens MTw Awinda: Miniature Wireless Inertial-Magnetic Motion Tracker for Highly Accurate 3D Kinematic Applications, Xsens."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Narkhede, P., Poddar, S., Walambe, R., Ghinea, G., and Kotecha, K. (2021). Cascaded complementary filter architecture for sensor fusion in attitude estimation. Sensors, 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/s21061937"},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"(2024, July 12). UR10e Robotic Arm. Available online: https:\/\/www.universal-robots.com\/media\/1807466\/ur10e-rgb-fact-sheet-landscape-a4-125-kg.pdf."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jiang, Y., Qi, Y., Wang, W.K., Bent, B., Avram, R., Olgin, J., and Dunn, J. (2020). EventDTW: An improved dynamic time warping algorithm for aligning biomedical signals of nonuniform sampling frequencies. Sensors, 20.","DOI":"10.3390\/s20092700"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3097","DOI":"10.1177\/00405175211048936","article-title":"Impact of size and shape for textile surface electromyography electrodes: A study of the biceps brachii muscle","volume":"92","author":"Barrera","year":"2022","journal-title":"Text. Res. J."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1370","DOI":"10.1109\/TNSRE.2019.2916397","article-title":"Validation of Polymer-Based Screen-Printed Textile Electrodes for Surface EMG Detection","volume":"27","author":"Pani","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Neural Syst. Rehabil. Eng."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107583","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2020.3000673","article-title":"Smart Vest for Real-Time Postural Biofeedback and Ergonomic Risk Assessment","volume":"8","author":"Cerqueira","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Paloschi, D., Bravi, M., Schena, E., Miccinilli, S., Morrone, M., Sterzi, S., Saccomandi, P., and Massaroni, C. (2021). Validation and assessment of a posture measurement system with magneto-inertial measurement units. Sensors, 21.","DOI":"10.3390\/s21196610"}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/14\/4717\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T15:20:27Z","timestamp":1760109627000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/14\/4717"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,20]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"14","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7]]}},"alternative-id":["s24144717"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s24144717","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,20]]}}}